Hydros controller, what do I need ?

[Frogbone]

I am looking into getting a reliable controller system and the Hydros caught my eye. Unfortunately the various options are very confusing to me. Could you guys help me decide what equipment I need based on below device list ? That way I can price the whole setup without buying overlapping items or items not needed.
Of course it should be extendable if I decide to add more equipment and/or new capabilities come out.

Device	Type
RO/DI Full	Optical Sensor
RO/DI Low	Optical Sensor
Remote Feeder	On/Off Switch
Saltwater Full	Optical Sensor
Saltwater Low	Optical Sensor
Sump Level Low	Optical Sensor
Auto Top Off	12 V Pump
Stirrer 1	12 V Stirrer
Dosing Pump 1	12 V Dosing Pump
Stirrer 2	12 V Stirrer
Dosing Pump 2	12 V Dosing Pump
RO/DI Valve	12 V Valve
Ozone Generator	110V
Skimmer	110V
Return Pump	110V
	110V
ATO	110V
Wavemakers	110V
AWC	110V
Drain Temp	Temp Probe
Return Temp	Temp Probe
pH	pH Probe
ORP	OPR Probe
Salinity	Salinity Probe

 

[Hooz]

Ok. You need to break it down by port... Sense Port, Drive Port, Probe Port, or AC Outlet. Add them all up to see what you need, then start the process of elimination. You did it pretty well above, but you can also get creative...

Are you going to use dosing heads or pumps for AWC? Can you combine some ATO components and AWC components (level sensors)? If you get compatible Wavemakers/Gyres and a WaveEngine, that would eliminate some AC Outlets that you'd need. Is there a compatible return pump that fits your need?

Things to note:

If you want a salinity probe, then it has to be a Launch or an X10. If you get an X10, that gives you 4 dosing heads, 2 Drive Ports, 4 Sense Ports, your Salinity Probe and one other (ph/ORP) probe. That knocks out several of your required ports... So figure out what's left, and which controllers knock out the most things on the list.

My tank setup is an X2, an X4, WaveEngine v2 and an XP8. No matter how you split it up, you're always going to have "extra" something. Just try to have as little extra as possible (or do even more cool stuff).

 

[Dragen Fiend]

If you want more in a all in one package. Get the X10. However if something goes wrong that takes out a ton of features. I'd personally do the launch.

So breaking it down.

Hydro launch will do
PH probe
ORP probe (useless in my opinion)
Salinity probe
2 temp probes
RODI full sensor
RODI low sensor
RODI top off 12v
RODI valve 12v
Stirrer 1 12v
Stirrer 2 12v
Ozone generator
Skimmer
Return pump
ATO

Next controller
----------------------
Hydros minnow:

Dosing pump 1
Dosing pump 2
remoter feeder
saltwater full
saltwater low
sump level low

Control XP8 (additional outlets)
----------------
wavemakers
awc


------------------------
I'm not sure what you have or don't have. It would help to list what your trying to achieve.

 

[Frogbone]

Tuanks for the info. I guess my confusion came from not knowing that multipe controllers can be used. Am i correct that I could use one launch and one minnow ?
Ar what point will it become less expenive to gonwoth an X10 and powerbar ?

 

[Aaron Stone]

Tuanks for the info. I guess my confusion came from not knowing that multipe controllers can be used. Am i correct that I could use one launch and one minnow ?
Ar what point will it become less expenive to gonwoth an X10 and powerbar ?

You can connect any of the controller options together, just pick and choose what you want, and you can always expand in stages.

I personally would go with the launch or X4 over the X10. I bought inexpensive 12v dosing heads off Amazon and put a GX-12 connector on it to plug into the drive port. The head and connector together cost about $40.

 

[BryanM]

Tuanks for the info. I guess my confusion came from not knowing that multipe controllers can be used. Am i correct that I could use one launch and one minnow ?
Ar what point will it become less expenive to gonwoth an X10 and powerbar ?

Coralvuew has a decent "setups" page here to get you close / where you want to be.

Customized Aquarium Controller

www.coralvuehydros.com

 

[n2585722]

Tuanks for the info. I guess my confusion came from not knowing that multipe controllers can be used. Am i correct that I could use one launch and one minnow ?
Ar what point will it become less expenive to gonwoth an X10 and powerbar ?

You can have multiple controllers in the same collective together. You would need enough Command bus cables to connect the controllers together. They connect in a daisy chain fashion. You will also need a couple of terminators. With just a few controllers you can get by with one, but at the price you might as well get 2 of them when you do. I have a collective with 14 controllers in it. I control my tank, RODI unit and mixing station with them. I have a build thread on R2R that has a lot of information on my Hydros system. I started with an X4 starter kit over 4 years ago and slowly added to it over time. Before the Hydros I was using the Archon controller so the first part of the build thread has a lot of info on it also but the company quit making controllers. Just click on My Tank Thread banner in one of my post to get to my build thread. I think the Hydros info starts around page 6 near the bottom of the page. Let me know if you have any questions. i have lots of screenshots and talk about what I am doing also. As new features came out I would also talk about them and posted any changes as they happened like the RODI output type. That did not exist at first but I come up with a way of doing it without using the RODI output type but switched to it after it became available.

 

[Frogbone]

They are not making it easy to pick lol.

I'm torn between the X10 plus the powerbar $1100
Launch plus Minnow plus one wifi plug : $850

Saving $250 for other accessories.

Am I correct in assuming that I can use my existing 12V dosing pumps, 5VDC water level sensors etc by just replacing the connectors that fit on the Hydros ?

Does the X10 allow for expansion which the Launch can't ? What would be a good reason to get the X10 vs the Launch besides the cost? Functionality ?

Do you have to use the HYdros Salinity probe or do any other ones with BNC connector work as well ?

 

[Frogbone]

I also realized that I can offload all the non critical items such as RO/DI and Saltwater mixing tank to my Home Assistant system. These don't need to be connected to the Hydros and would save 4 sense ports

 

[n2585722]

They are not making it easy to pick lol.

I'm torn between the X10 plus the powerbar $1100
Launch plus Minnow plus one wifi plug : $850

Saving $250 for other accessories.

Am I correct in assuming that I can use my existing 12V dosing pumps, 5VDC water level sensors etc by just replacing the connectors that fit on the Hydros ?

Does the X10 allow for expansion which the Launch can't ? What would be a good reason to get the X10 vs the Launch besides the cost? Functionality ?

Do you have to use the HYdros Salinity probe or do any other ones with BNC connector work as well ?

You expand by adding another controller of your choice so the Launch can also be expanded. Any of the controllers can be added to a collective. When in a collective all information is shared between the controllers over the command bus so an input or output on different controllers can control an output on another controller.

 

[Frogbone]

SO there is no real advantage in getting the X10 over the Launch ?

 

[JumboShrimp]

I read the first 11 posts. It's all Greek to me. (I own a nano ATO. That is my big claim to tank-automation.) Lol!!

 

[n2585722]

SO there is no real advantage in getting the X10 over the Launch ?

If you need some dosing pumps like for alkalinity testing using the iV then you may want to get an X10. As far as sense ports those seem to be used up faster than the others since most input devices use those inputs. Your pH and ORP use probe ports and salinity uses a salinity port. There are 0-10v inputs which the Launch has but the X10 does not. Also there are 0-10v output ports but those are only on a X4 and the WEv2.

 

[Frogbone]

If you need some dosing pumps like for alkalinity testing using the iV then you may want to get an X10. As far as sense ports those seem to be used up faster than the others since most input devices use those inputs. Your pH and ORP use probe ports and salinity uses a salinity port. There are 0-10v inputs which the Launch has but the X10 does not. Also there are 0-10v output ports but those are only on a X4 and the WEv2.

The Minnow has two dosing pumps and I thought I can use two of my 12 V pumos I have ?

What are the 0-10V inputs and Outputs used for ? How are they different than the Drive ports ?

 

[Frogbone]

Do the Wifi Hydros plugs only work with the app but are not controlled by the controller ?

 

[n2585722]

The Minnow has two dosing pumps and I thought I can use two of my 12 V pumos I have ?

What are the 0-10V inputs and Outputs used for ? How are they different than the Drive ports ?

The Minnow also has 4 sense ports. The Minnow pumps are a little different. They are smart dosers and can run at 25, 40 and 55ml per minute in either direction. The X10 pumps are stepper motor pumps and can run from .1 to 100ml a minute in .1ml per minute steps in either direction. The Hydros simple doser runs off a drive port which is just a switchable 12v output so the power on those ports can be turned on and off. The 0-10v inputs can be used for quite a few thing. There are button boxes you can get that use one of the ports. those can be used to either switch modes are other types of switch inputs. I use 3 of the 4 on my X4 for water level sensors so I can tell the amount of water remaining in my three reservoirs. The 4th one is used on a button box for my mixing station. One turns on the light above my work bench and will remain on for 30 minutes if I do not turn it back off. Two are used to turn on the dispense pumps in my fresh saltwater reservoir or my DI reservoir so I can dispense into containers when needed. I also have one switch which is used to halt my AWC and also disable all the pushbuttons. If I am going to be gone for a few days I turn on that switch and that prevents the buttons from doing anything and turns off AWC so that is one less thing to have to worry about while I am gone. The 4 0-10v outputs on the X4 are used to control my tank lighting. So the 0-10v outouts output a control signal than can be anywhere between 0 and 10v. It is just a control signal and cannot power anything.

 

[Frogbone]

The Minnow also has 4 sense ports. The Minnow pumps are a little different. They are smart dosers and can run at 25, 40 and 55ml per minute in either direction. The X10 pumps are stepper motor pumps and can run from .1 to 100ml a minute in .1ml per minute steps in either direction. The Hydros simple doser runs off a drive port which is just a switchable 12v output so the power on those ports can be turned on and off. The 0-10v inputs can be used for quite a few thing. There are button boxes you can get that use one of the ports. those can be used to either switch modes are other types of switch inputs. I use 3 of the 4 on my X4 for water level sensors so I can tell the amount of water remaining in my three reservoirs. The 4th one is used on a button box for my mixing station. One turns on the light above my work bench and will remain on for 30 minutes if I do not turn it back off. Two are used to turn on the dispense pumps in my fresh saltwater reservoir or my DI reservoir so I can dispense into containers when needed. I also have one switch which is used to halt my AWC and also disable all the pushbuttons. If I am going to be gone for a few days I turn on that switch and that prevents the buttons from doing anything and turns off AWC so that is one less thing to have to worry about while I am gone. The 4 0-10v outputs on the X4 are used to control my tank lighting. So the 0-10v outouts output a control signal than can be anywhere between 0 and 10v. It is just a control signal and cannot power anything.

Ah..makes sense now. Like I mentioned, I can offload all those indirect things very easily and cheap into my Home Assistant system.

I pulled the trigger and ordered these:

​ HYDROS Triple Optical ATO Kit - Hydros × 1 $83.99 ​ Hydros Dosing Pump - Hydros × 1 $62.99 ​ Hydros Control XP8 Energy Bar Aquarium Controller - Hydros × 1 $300.99 ​ Command Bus Cable - Hydros × 2 1ft $12.98 ​ Hydros Command Bus Terminator - Hydros × 1 $5.49 ​ HYDROS Minnow Aquarium Controller - Hydros × 1 $249.99 ​ HYDROS Launch Aquarium Controller - Hydros × 1 $549.99 ​ Subtotal $1,266.42​ Shipping $0.00​ Taxes $0.00​ Total $1,266.42 USD​

 

[n2585722]

Do the Wifi Hydros plugs only work with the app but are not controlled by the controller ?

The wifi power strips and plugs are controlled by the Hydros but it is done over wifi so if you loose wifi for any reason then the power strips or plugs will remain in whatever state they were in when communication was lost no matter how long that takes. So it is best not to use them for dosing, ATO or AWC. If you use them for heating then make sure your heating has a backup off, but that should be done for heaters regardless of how you control them. In a collective of multiple controller one controller is designated as the wifi master and controls all wifi devices. This is done automatically by the controllers unless you set one as the preferred wifi master.

 

[braaap]

The X10 doser heads are absolute trash. They crack and need replaced often. They also are limited to ONLY dosing programs. You can’t use those heads for things like an ATO or functions outside of dosing. Coralvue loves to limit features because they just don’t feel like allowing them.


Personally I would get a launch and xp8. I have a bunch of the controllers and they all have their uses but the only one that basically does everything is the launch. Pretty soon I’ll be pairing down some controllers like a minnow, and x2 I believe. Just trying to finish up my mixing station.

 

[n2585722]

Ah..makes sense now. Like I mentioned, I can offload all those indirect things very easily and cheap into my Home Assistant system.

I pulled the trigger and ordered these:

​ HYDROS Triple Optical ATO Kit - Hydros × 1 $83.99 ​ Hydros Dosing Pump - Hydros × 1 $62.99 ​ Hydros Control XP8 Energy Bar Aquarium Controller - Hydros × 1 $300.99 ​ Command Bus Cable - Hydros × 2 1ft $12.98 ​ Hydros Command Bus Terminator - Hydros × 1 $5.49 ​ HYDROS Minnow Aquarium Controller - Hydros × 1 $249.99 ​ HYDROS Launch Aquarium Controller - Hydros × 1 $549.99 ​ Subtotal $1,266.42​ Shipping $0.00​ Taxes $0.00​ Total $1,266.42 USD​

Sounds good just don't use the power pack that comes with the minnow since you will have a power source with the XP8 and Launch. Those power packs that connect directly to the command bus cannot be used with any other source of power on the command bus.